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Lisa's Kitchen Blog

Thank you for visiting my blog! I'm glad you're here. I am a part-time Living the Country Life and Successful Farming web editor, and a full-time stay-at-home mom to my three young sons, Jake, Luke, and Will. My husband, the boys, and I live on 40 acres in south-central Iowa. We have a handful of cattle, an old farmhouse, a dog, a turtle, a goldfish, and a garden. It's a great life! I really enjoy cooking for my family and friends, and am thrilled to get to share some of my favorite recipes and meals with you.

Come visit my blog anytime you’re looking for ideas on what to fix for your family. The coffee’s always on!

I love Greek food, especially gyros. There's something so yummy about the perfectly spiced meat combined with cool, refreshing tzatziki sauce. I had never made these at home before, but with the slow cooker, they are easy and delicious! I used beef, but you could use lamb or chicken, or any meat you like.

Slice your steak into thin strips, or have your butcher slice it for you. I threw my steaks in the freezer for a few hours and sliced them with my trusty chef's knife. This makes cutting meat so much easier!

Line your slow cooker with foil or a liner. Arrange beef strips on the bottom. Mix the other ingredients together and pour over the beef. Toss gently.

Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours, until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender. Serve on pita bread with lettuce, cucumber slices, onions, and tzatziki sauce.

Everything's better with bacon, including chicken. I knew even before I made this dish that it would be a huge hit with my family, and I was right. The best thing about these pumped-up chicken fingers (other than the absolutely delicious flavor) is that I cooked them in the oven in the afternoon, then put them in the slow cooker to keep them warm during my boys' baseball game. When we got home, dinner was ready! (You could also cook them on the grill!)

Depending on the number of slices of bacon per package, you may want to cut them in half, so you have the same number of bacon strips as chicken fingers.

Wrap each seasoned chicken strip with a piece of bacon. Start at one end and spiral wrap around the chicken. Roll in brown sugar and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet with raised edges. If you want to keep the strips out of the fat, place a cooling rack inside the cookie sheet to lift them up a bit.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the bacon is nice and crispy. Serve with orange dipping sauce.

Well, it was bound to happen. The sourdough starter I got from my friends was left unattended too long and bit the dust. I did use it for several tasty recipes though, and I’m going to get a fresh starter at some point. Probably in the fall, since I don’t do a lot of baking in the hot summer. One of the dishes I did make with my starter was a scrumptious chicken pot pie. The sourdough flavor really came through in both the sauce and the crust, and gave this savory dish an unexpected tangy twist.

Of course you can use fresh or frozen vegetables, but I always have big cans of mixed veggies in my pantry, and they’re just right for throwing together for a quick pot pie.

For the crust, combine the flour and salt, then place in a mound on the counter. Create a well in the center, and put the sourdough starter in the well. Fold the flour into the starter using a spatula, until all incorporated. Add cream cheese to the mixture and fold in. You may need to work it in with your fingers. You want to have some small chunks of cream cheese left. Form dough into a square. Cut butter into the center and fold dough over itself so it encases the butter. Roll, fold over, and roll again into a 9×13″ rectangle.

To make the sauce, put the stock and water in a pan over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine sourdough starter and 3 Tbsp. of milk, whisking until dissolved. Add the rest of the milk and whisk. Once the stock is bubbling, whisk the milk/starter mixture into the stock. Add cheese. Add salt, pepper and spices. Continue to whisk and heat until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth and satiny. Add chicken and vegetables and stir gently until coated.

Pour filling into a 9×13″ baking dish and top with the crust. Brush crust with milk and make a few incisions with a knife to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

I love the idea of taking box cake mix and making it into something special by adding your own ingredients. I recently shared my pineapple angel food cake recipe. Here’s another tasty way to use angel food cake mix!

Combine pie filling and cake mix. At first, you won’t think there’s going to be enough liquid in the pie filling to incorporate all of the cake mix, but trust me, there is. Just keep stirring and eventually you’ll have a lovely cake batter. Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan and bake at 350 degrees F. Mine was ready after 20 minutes, but depending on the size of your pan, whether you use a glass or metal pan, and your oven, it may take up to 35 minutes. I suggest checking the cake after 20 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it doesn't come out clean, bake another 5 minutes and check again, until the cake is light golden brown and passes the toothpick test.

I didn’t make any frosting this time, but this cake would be delicious with my fluffy frosting. You could also use any type of pie filling. Cherry, blueberry, and peach would all be super yummy!

This tasty recipe comes from my cousin Bridget. She’s a teacher and has a husband and two very busy kids, so she — like me — appreciates the value of a meal that’s easy and quick to fix, and that satisfies everyone.

I made this the other night, and wasn’t sure something so simple could really be as delicious as Bridget said, but it was! Everyone in the family loved it, and it could not have been easier! The best thing is that all of the ingredients are staples in my house, so just about anytime I need a last-minute meal, I can pull this together.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll crescent rolls out and separate into individual triangles. Spoon chicken and cheese onto the widest part of the dough, then fold in the corners and pinch to seal all the way around, forming little bundles. Place bundles in a 9×13″ baking dish.

Make soup on stovetop as directed, using a can of milk. Pour prepared soup over top of the rolls. Top each with a little extra shredded cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes, or until bundles are golden brown. Spoon the soup sauce on top of bundles.

Have you ever kept a sourdough starter? My friends Krissy and Nick gave me a start from their sourdough starter a few weeks ago, and I’ve been having all kinds of fun with it! This particular starter is the sweeter variety, also known as Herman starter, which is replenished with sugar, flour and milk. It’s fun thinking of something different to make with it every week, and I’m anxious to see how long I can keep the starter going!

Krissy and Nick shared some recipes, including bread bowls, which I’m dying to try … again. I tried them once, but the yeast I had was probably old, because the dough didn’t rise like it should have and I wound up with hockey pucks instead of bread bowls. I bought some new yeast, so the bread bowls will be one of my next projects.

This time, though, I tried Amish friendship bread. You can add any kind of fruit or nuts you like to this bread. Chocolate chips would even be good! I had an abundance of blueberries, so I mixed some of them into the batter before pouring in to the pans.

If you don’t have a friend who’s willing to share a starter with you, you can make it yourself.

In a glass or plastic bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in the flower and sugar, and mix until smooth. (Do not use metal bowls or utensils.) Cover loosely and leave in a warm place overnight. The next day, stir, pour into a sturdy resealable plastic bag, and refrigerate.

For the next four days, massage the bag to stir the mixture. On the fifth day, stir then divide in half. Give half away with feeding instructions.

Feed starter with 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 cup flour, and 1 cup milk. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate and stir daily for the next four days. Feed again on the tenth day and return to the refrigerator, stirring daily for four days.

On the 15th day, the starter is ready to be used for baking. Reserve one cup in the refrigerator and continue to follow the stir and feed cycle (stir daily for four days, stir and feed on fifth day, ready to use on 10th day).

Caramel rolls are such a decadent treat. They’re perfect for lazy Saturday mornings, but they take so darned long! Wouldn’t it be nice if they were fast enough for a Tuesday morning, for a change? Now they are!

My friend Marcy shared this recipe, and I couldn’t wait to try it. The caramel rolls turned out great, and everyone gobbled them right up. They may not have quite the exact flavor and gooeyness as rolls made completely from scratch, but their quickness and easiness more than makes up for that!

Combine melted butter and syrup in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts.

Treat a Bundt pan with non-stick spray. Spoon about half the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with half of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place the biscuits on top, standing upright in a ring. Pour the remaining syrup over the top, and sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the rolls.

Bake in a 375-degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then invert onto a platter to serve.

How easy is that?!? I’ll definitely be making these again, and next time I may try using a little more of the syrup and sugar mixtures, for extra caramelly goodness. Enjoy!

I am so in love with my slow cookers! There are two large ones sitting out on my counter at all times, and another big one and a few small ones in the pantry. When I saw this recipe for beef stroganoff, I knew I had to try it!

2 pounds stew meat, cubed

2 cans condensed golden mushroom soup

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

4 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup water

16 oz. cream cheese (I used a low-fat variety)

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. smoked paprika

In the slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the meat and cream cheese. Once mixed well, fold in the meat cubes. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Turn your slow cooker to high, cut the cream cheese into cubes and stir into the mixture. Replace the lid and leave for about 10 minutes, until the cream cheese is melted and creamy. Stir well, and serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

My husband and I loved this dish. It was hot and comforting, the beef was super tender and wonderfully flavored, and the mushroom sauce was delicious. The kids, on the other hand, thought it was “too mushroomy” and they only ate it because I made brownies for dessert. This may not be the best dish for children, but I highly recommend it for grown-ups! Next time I may try it with French onion soup instead, to cut down on the mushroom factor.

Making a hot breakfast for my boys every day is a must when it’s so cold outside. I want their bellies to be warm before they bundle up and head outside to wait for the bus. But it’s easy to fall into a rut of making the same things over and over.

The other day, I saw some adorable football-shaped rolls, and I thought they would make perfect breakfast boats for my little sports fans. There were six rolls in the pack, so I used three and stuck the other three in the freezer for another day.

I sliced into the rolls and removed the tops and middles, being careful to leave the “shell” in tact. Then, I beat together 4 eggs, a few tablespoons of milk, and 1/3 cup shredded cheese. You could also add bacon, sausage, ham, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, or asparagus, but I decided to keep it simple for the kids.

The bread was placed on a rimmed cookie sheet, and I poured the egg mixture into each of the three rolls, then sprinkled a little more cheese on top. They went into a 350-degree F. oven for 25 minutes, until the eggs are set.

The boys loved their egg boats! The egg mixture seeped into the bread and baked up with it so nicely. This was a welcome change in our breakfast routine!

There’s something really comforting about hot, cheesy foods on a cold day. I made this cheesy chili dip a few days ago, and it made me and my husband happy: I love anything in a bread bowl, and my husband is a leftover-using maniac.

Originally, this was going to be a cheesy bacon dip, but I had about a cup of Jayson’s delicious homemade chili left in the fridge. I saved myself the hassle of frying bacon, and used up those leftovers!

You can make your own bread bowl, of course, but I picked up a round loaf at the store, cut off the top, and hollowed it out. The bread scraps were toasted and eaten with the dip.